Miranda's Destiny - the unexpurgated edition

by Candace Smith

  “Tali is so in love with me it freaks me out. Heck, even when I’m snippy with him, he doesn’t get angry. The thing is, I think I do that because I am afraid I’ve fallen for him too.” Tempest glanced over to Taliquant. He was over by Zulien and grinning at her, and when he saw her look over, he waved.

  “Well, that would be helpful. We are getting married today. I think we’re going to be all right now, Tempest. Like your mom would say, I think we’ve ‘found’ ourselves.”

  The young women walked over to their waiting mates and continued on to the feast. After breakfast, the parents got into their shuttle and the Major loaded up the guards and mates in two others. They sped to Zulien’s home to prepare for the ceremonies.

  It was a one-story building made of light blue shallistone, and when she passed under the entry arch into the foyer, Miranda stopped and stared. On every built-in shelf, there were bouquets of all different kinds of unusual flowers.

  Zalana looked around warily. “You said you would each like a bouquet, and we were not sure which flowers would be right for the ritual.”

  Tempest's mouth was hanging open. “Great goddess, mom, are there any flowers left on Shallistar.”

  Terena straightened with pride when her wild new daughter called her mother again. “We have beautiful flowers on planet. Many of these bouquets came from the growers when they heard it was the only request from the Ancient for the ritual. Their importance in the Merchant Chambers has already risen, and they are anxiously waiting to see whose gift the Celestial and Provider of Ritual Growing Things will choose to adorn their robes.”

  “No wonder you look tired. Zalana, I am so sorry. I was trying to suggest something easy.” Miranda gazed around the walls in embarrassment. “Did you say whichever bouquet I picked would make a difference?”

  “Oh, yes.” Zalana swept her arm around the room. “To be the grower of the flowers the Celestial picks for her ceremonial bouquet… every new mate will need the ritual flowers for their ceremony.”

  “Cripes, I just wanted a little bouquet,” Miranda muttered.

  As usual, Tempest took it in stride. “Imagine the sales for pancakes and pallachi juice when it comes out that is the official joining ritual feast.”

  “Stop it, Tempest. I’m afraid to ask for anything at this point.”

  Zulien recognized his mate’s distress, and placed his big comforting hands on her shoulders. He bent down and whispered, “Why are you upset, Miranda? The growers are trying to honor you and Tempest.”

  “The flowers are not for ritual, Zule. It was just something I wanted to carry to remind me of weddings back home. I could tell your mother wanted to do something to make me more comfortable. It would not be right for one grower to flourish on my whim.”

  Zulien studied the foyer with all the brightly colored arrangements. “I know what to do, my mate. Do not let this distress you any further.”

  Sagging against his chest she looked up, strained with all that was happening. “Are you sure? I don’t want to insult anybody.”

  “I am sure, my little Ancient. Go prepare for the ceremony.” A quick kiss brushed her temple, and Zalana led the women down the hall to her bedroom where they would get ready.

  The mates from the Quillant showed up and insisted on helping. They could see Zalana and Terena were exhausted with the hurried preparations for the important event.

  Vasilla was brushing Miranda's drying hair, and Tempest was screaming from the bathing chamber, “Cripes, Ebonisha, I can wash myself. Oooh…Oooh. Women don’t touch each other there.” Terena rubbed her temples.

  “I wish I had some chamomile tea for you. It would make you feel so much calmer.” Truthfully, Miranda wished she had some for herself.

  “Is this a plant magic?” Terena was interested in anything that had to do with her Tempest's power over growing things.

  “I guess it is. Tempest had to plant two pots for us back home, because it helped me get to sleep,” Miranda confessed.

  Tempest came out of the bathing chamber wrapped in Terena's robe with it dragging behind her and her hair sticking out at crazy angles. There was a knock on the door and she strode angrily over to answer it. “What now?” She swung the door open to find Tali standing on the other side. He was missing his mate and wanted to make sure she was okay.

  “Cripes, Tali, get away from here. You’re not allowed to see me.” She tried to push him back to close the door.

  Tali persisted. “Why, my mate? Why am I not allowed to see you?”

  “Because it’s my wedding day, you big oaf. You’re not supposed to see the bride.”

  Tali was devastated. “Ever? How do we join again?”

  “Oh goddess, Tali. You’re not supposed to see me until the ceremony. It’s supposed to be a surprise.”

  The warrior took in his wild mate’s appearance with the sleeves of the robe bunched up on her arms and pooling around her feet. He could not begin to figure out how she got her short hair to poke out like it did. “I am surprised, Tempest.”

  Both her small hands shoved against his chest, and pushed him into the hall so she could slam the door. “Surprised at the ceremony, big guy.”

  “Zalana, I have an idea for some of those flowers. Could you ask Zulien to send us some with small petals and different colors?”

  “I will get them myself, Miranda. I can use a little walk.”

  She returned a short while later, a mysterious smile in her eyes as she laid the flowers on the sleeping pallet. “You look lovely, Miranda.”

  Her ceremonial robe was the usual caftan in some shimmery sapphire material Miranda could not discern, cut in a vee to her waist in the front and back. Tempest's was the same in a shimmery emerald green.

  It was obvious the mothers wanted their new daughters’ unusual eye color to be noticed. Everyone else they had seen, with the exception of Ethram and Ballion, had the chocolate eyes of the Shallistarians or Amarazonians.

  Miranda's robe was edged in silver, Tempest's in gold, and the only other adornment on the caftans were tiny bells trailing down the front from the waist to the floor. Naturally, Miranda's bells were silver, Tempest's were gold, and every time the girls moved the bells chimed softly. It was driving Tempest crazy. “Okay, what’s the deal with the bells?”

  “They are a symbol for your mate that he can always find you and protect you.” Terena thought Tempest shone like the brantola trees.

  “Like he can’t find me. I practically trip over the big guy every time I move,” she said to no one in particular.

  Miranda sat on the bed, breaking the flowers off the bouquets and leaving one-inch stems. Vasilla and Ebonisia joined her in the task, wondering if it was another ritual, and afraid to show their ignorance. When they had a pile of brightly colored flowers, Miranda instructed them how to weave them through her long hair.

  She took what was left and braided two haloed crowns for her and Tempest. It was a bit of a task to arrange the crown over her friend’s spikes, and when Miranda finally looked up from her task, all eight women in the room were staring at them and silently crying. “Cripes, I wonder what I did now?” she whispered to Tempest.

  “Have I broken some,” Miranda searched for the word, “oh yeah, protocol?”

  “Miranda,” Zalana gasped. “You have shown the people of Shallistar the most respect. To adorn your head with the natural flowers of our planet, will show them you wish to share your wisdom, and for Tempest, the Provider of Ritual Growing Things for the Ancient’s rituals, to also honor us…” she was so overcome, she could not finish.

  Tempest leaned in, “I guess veils would have been less complicated. Provider of Ritual Growing Things, hrrumph. I think I’ve finally had a vision. I see myself spending my life on a tractor or with a shovel in my hand.”

  Miranda giggled, then sobered. She had not told anyone of the vision she had last night. Zulien did not ask her because it had shaken her up so badly. “Zalana, can we speak privately for a moment?”

 
The tall woman licked her lips in apprehension as she followed Miranda to the bathing chamber, wondering what mother’s wisdom she would ask.

  “I am supposed to tell you my visions so you can help me figure out what they mean. Well, last night I had a doozy.” Miranda told her about the pyramid, the beam of light and the star. “Any thoughts?”

  Zalana paled a little. “I think I need to talk to the Magistrate of Battle as soon as the ceremonies have ended.” She would not explain anything else.

  The time had come to proceed to the ceremony. The men had already gone, leaving a regiment of guards and the Qullant warriors to escort the women.

  When they reached the foyer, two small bouquets lay on a shelf with a note and all the other bouquets were gone. Miranda picked up the sheet. “Miranda, I think I have read your distress correctly. Tali and I have picked the smallest stem from every vase and my mother helped us arrange the bouquets you wish to hold. No grower should reap more significance than another to prosper on our day, so the remaining flowers have been brought to the ceremony and scattered on the aisle that will lead you to me. I hope this eases your stress and is in accordance with your wishes, my mate.” She wordlessly handed the note to Tempest.

  A look of wonder flashed in her eyes. “I can’t imagine the big guy going through flowers for me.” She picked up the bouquet of predominately green petals, held it to her face and inhaled the sweet fragrance. Terena noticed the moisture pooled in her eyes.

  Zalana and Terena were nervously fidgeting in the shuttle seat across from the mates. Tempest was quivering a bit at Miranda's side as the enormity of what was happening today began to sink in. To Miranda, it appeared she was the calmest of the group, and she could not stand the silence any longer. “I understand why Tempest is nervous, but Zalana, please calm down. I am sure whatever preparations you and Terena have organized are going to be perfect.”

  “I fear you will be disappointed, Celestial.” Zalana was ready to cry.

  “Zalana, if I had less than a week to put together two weddings with aliens, one of whom you think is going to save your race, surrounded by guards because you’re afraid the brides will be kidnapped or killed… cripes, I would have had a nervous breakdown by now.” She took the woman’s hands and held them until their eyes met. “Anything, absolutely anything, you have arranged is going to be perfect.”

  “It is in the valley,” Terena blurted out.

  “What?” Tempest asked.

  “The ceremony. It is in the valley,” Zalana repeated anxiously. “It is the only place with a ritual altar, and we thought it might be necessary for you.”

  Miranda's mouth dropped open as Terena continued, “We tried to remember the placement of the stones to build one by the Zabilla, but we could not. We even tried drawing it when you sent us to lie down in the joining chambers, but when we compared pictures, they were completely different,” she said miserably.

  Miranda smiled. “That is perfect. It is where I met all of you and Zulien. It will make me so much more comfortable to be in familiar surroundings.” At the mention of Zule, Miranda lifted her wrist with the offering scarf and brushed it down her cheek. She had been away from him for too long.

  “Oh, mom, thanks. I was afraid we were going to end up in some huge Shallistone cathedral or something. The valley is much nicer. It is exactly the spot I would have picked.” Tempest squeezed the woman’s hand.

  Zalana and Terena studied the mates closely to see if they were merely hiding their disappointment, but both prospective daughters looked genuinely pleased, and they began to relax. “We hope the ceremony is to your liking. Terena and I agree that most of it must come from the Old Religion. They could not have taken everything away from us.”

  Now, Miranda was nervous. It had not occurred to her that she had absolutely no idea what the ‘ceremony’ entailed. In a regular wedding, there were rehearsals, and everyone knew what to expect on the big day. She was getting ready to ask when the shuttle pulled into the valley.

  “By the polluted planets of the outer worlds,” one of the guards in the shuttle exclaimed.

  At least five hundred people had crammed into the small clearing, half of them warriors. “I thought this was supposed to be a small affair,” Miranda whispered, her eyes wide as she took in the crowd.

  Seartock met the shuttle and overheard a shocked Zalana say, “Terena and I only invited our closest friends.”

  The warrior rolled his eyes. “Who invited their closest friends, who invited their closest friends... ladies, they are wrong. Our biggest export is not Shallistones. It is gossip. Thank the stars the Magistrate of Battle decided to attend and brought reinforcements, or there is no way we would we have been able to secure this crowd.”

  Miranda finally found her voice. “Zalana, exactly what does this ceremony entail. I have no idea what I am supposed to do.”

  Zalana waved her hand, distracted by the gathering. “Nothing, Miranda. All you have to do is go to Zulien. He does everything else.”

  Miranda narrowed her eyes. “What ‘else’ does he do?”

  “Professes his love and desire for you, promises to protect you and keep you near to him... it is a rather simple ceremony. Because you are his destined mate, there really is not any doubt that you will be together.”

  They had approached a four-foot wide aisle that the crowd had bordered. It led to the altar, and the flowers from the foyer carpeted the path. Miranda and Tempest began to get anxious when they saw their mates and Letang waiting for them. They had been separated for too long. “You better hold my hand, or I’m going to end up running up there,” Tempest whispered.

  “I know what you mean. I’m more nervous about being away from him than I am about the wedding.”

  The girls forced themselves to walk slowly. Murmurs of how beautiful they looked, comments about their ‘ritual’ flower crowns, an occasional Celestial Ancient remark, all went unheard as the young women passed by. Finally, they were at the altar, and Zulien held his hand out to Miranda. Taliquant held his out to Tempest, mirroring the ceremony.

  Zulien turned Miranda so that she faced the crowd, and she continued to look up into his handsome, proud face. “I present to the people of Shallistone, the Celestial Ancient, Miranda. My mate.”

  Taliquant presented the Provider of Ritual Growing Things. The gathering was quiet, and Miranda found her gaze could not leave her warrior’s eyes. Her mind drifted to their joining, and she felt herself getting aroused. She did not realize she was in the ceremonial mating trance.

  She never heard Zulien say, “I vow my love and desire for no other. I vow to protect and comfort you. No sound or request need be made. It is in my soul. Gaze once upon her beauty, and know that she is mine, mate of Zulien.” With that, he removed the caftan with the bells, and the entranced Miranda stood naked before the gathering.

  Tempest was equally naked beside Taliquant, who was almost challenging anyone to find a single flaw on his beautiful wild mate. A minute passed unchallenged, and then the crowd erupted with applause.

  The women came out of their trance. “Cripes...” Miranda snatched up the caftan from Letang’s arms and pulled it over her head, sure she was redder than the darkest finisia flowers.

  Tempest glared at Taliquant as she got dressed. “I do not know what the hell you did to me, but you are in deep shit, big guy.”

  The warriors were confused over their mates’ obvious distress. “Tempest, why are you angry? There were no challenges. None,” he said proudly. “You are mine.”

  “I am so talking to Zalana about this,” Miranda said angrily.

  “Why? My mother did not challenge.” Zulien did not understand. The ceremony went perfectly.

  “Strip,” Tempest ordered, and Taliquant stared into her flashing eyes. “Now, big guy. No way am I going to stand in front of all your mother’s friends and half the warriors in the galaxy butt naked, and you do not.”

  “The witnesses do not challenge for us,” Tali tried to explain.r />
  Tempest reached for the top of his breeches. “Either you do it, or I will do it.”

  Zulien whispered quickly, “Miranda, stop her. If she does this, he can be challenged as not strong enough to protect her.”

  Miranda was pretty angry with him and did not understand what he meant, but she did understand the urgency in his voice. She had never heard him scared before. “Tempest, stop.”

  “What?”

  “Stop. If you make him do this, he can’t claim you anymore. It makes you fair game for anyone out there.”

  Tempest's fingers were under the waistband of his breeches, and Tali was doing his best not to look panicked. Tempest slowly turned around and saw anticipation on one hundred warriors’ faces. “Do not think you’re off the hook,” she hissed at him. She loudly exclaimed as she pulled on the waistband, stretching up for a kiss, “On my world, we end the ceremony with a kiss, my mate.”